1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device configured to be electrically connectable to an external electrode by a wire.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there are various technologies for electrically connecting a semiconductor chip to an external electrode. A semiconductor chip utilizing this kind of technology includes a bonding pad. The bonding pad is used for connecting one end of a wire to an upper portion thereof. Note that the other end of the wire is connected to the external electrode.
When the wire is connected, a physical impact is applied to the bonding pad, and there is a risk that the bonding pad is damaged due to this impact. That is to say, there is a risk that a connection error occurs. A semiconductor device configured to deal with this kind of problem is disclosed in patent document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 03-227540) and patent document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-223172).
However, it is difficult to solve the above-described problem sufficiently even using the semiconductor devices disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2.